Hello all,

I built this computer last year it was starting to slow down so i decided to totally reinstall windows except this time i wanted to partition this time because i hear that makes your computer go faster.

so i made a parition C: that was 10 gigs and installed windows on to it
i made a partition D: with the extra 160 gigs for all of my files

now i am waiting for the d drive to format. and i just realized everything will want to save defaultly to C:. is there a way to: a) change things so that everything will be saved on D: or b) rename the partitions


i realize i may have done everthing wrong and i accept that possibility.

thank you in advance

kidma007,

A seperate partition is good, and although there is a variety of ways to change default download location (which usually is My Documents or Documents) this seems the easiest to me.


Create a new folder that you want to assign as My Documents folder, if needed.
Assign appropriate folder permissions if needed.
-Click Start.
-Right click on My Documents or Documents (for Vista). You can also right click on My Documents or Documents folder that appears in Windows Explorer, or in My Computer or Computer window (for Vista), then select Properties in the context menu.
-Click the Target tab (for XP or earlier version) or Location tab (in Vista).
-In the Target box (Target folder location in XP), type the path to the folder location that you want My Documents to be, and then click OK button. For example, D:\My New Documents Folder\. If the folder does not exist, the “Create Message” dialog box is displayed. Click Yes to create the folder, and then click OK.
-Alternatively, click on Move, then select a new folder that you want to move My Documents to, and click OK to select the folder as new target. Click OK at Documents’ Properties. If you need to create a new folder, click Make New Folder shortcut, or right click on blank space then select New -> Folder. Type a name for the folder, and then click OK twice.

Note: The new target folder can be another place on same hard drive, another drive or another computer on your network.

You have the option whether to let Windows move the files currently in the original My Documents folder to your new target folder. In the Move Documents dialog box, click Yes to move your documents to the new location, or click No to leave your documents in the original location.


My Documents now points to new folder location.

Thank you very much for the quick reply it was extreamly helpful. I am still a little confused with the whole partioning thing though. do i put everything on the D: drive or do i put some things on the C:

for example i play a good amount of demanding games where do i save those?

thanks again

For most of the part, you should install all the files that will be used by the system on a partition at the beginning of the disk. That means XP or Vista, but also all programs that are launching at startup, programs you use all the time, microsoft programs that usually like to intricate their files with other microsoft programs, your antivirus and firewall, your web browser, ...

For optimal performances, that partition has to be the first one on the disk (fastest part of the disk). For compatibility issues with some programs, it's better if it has the c: volume letter.

You ideally want that partition to be the smallest possible, but you have to let some room for XP to breathe. I have installed XP on a 15GB partition, with my 20 favorite softwares, and I have more than 12GB free. Though I wouldn't go much smaller. I might want to install Office or another big program one day. You also have to leave room for future updates and there should always be at least 3 or 4 GB free to be sure XP isn't squeezed too much.

The rest of the disk should be used for softwares you use only occasionally (games, ...), downloads and storage.

again thank you so much for all of the help it has been super helpful. now that i am looking at it i do olny have about 6 gigs open and this is before i have added anything except for mozilla and a few drivers. is there any way of making the partition bigger without going through the hassle of reinstalling windows again?

kidma007, try EASEUS Partition Manager.

Hello,

Is your issues Resolved/Answered/Fixed.

Or do you require further help?

Please post back.

JB.